Blind mate interconnect systems provide automatic mating between connector elements on a backplane and connector elements on hardware modules, such as storage devices, when the modules are installed in an enclosure. The connection is typically made in an interior region of the enclosure, which is usually not easily accessible. One difficulty resulting from the use of a blind mate interconnect is assuring that the two mating connector elements are properly aligned so that the connection will be reliably made, especially in an environment requiring hot swap of components such as disk drives.
The enclosure consists of enclosure sections holding a backplane containing connectors with which the module connectors mate on installation. The backplane must be installed in the enclosure in such a way as to guarantee a proper blind mate interconnection when a module is installed. However, mechanical tolerances involved in constructing the typical enclosure and backplane assembly are larger than that which can guarantee a proper installation without special hardware or post-construction adjustments to the positioning of the backplane within the enclosure.
One present method of compensating for the large tolerance stack of the enclosure requires the use of an assembly fixture to align the backplane connectors before screwing the backplane to the shelf. Another method .requires use of expensive "floating" connectors on the modules which seek out the backplane connectors. Both of these methods necessarily add greatly to the cost and complexity of the system.